Comments on: Have some cookies and a 177% APR

By: Terry

Terry — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 05:13:54 +0000

Heck, 177% APR is nothing com;pared with the 521% APR common on payday loans in Oregon.

By: imelda

imelda — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 06:14:06 +0000

“people are poor because they value wealth (things) more than money moreso than their richer neighbors”

This quote wins as the most asinine, ignorant comment made on this blog for as long as I’ve been reading it.

By: Trisha

Trisha — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:30:56 +0000

177% sounds like usury. I suspect, if you did take this offer and were charged the 177%, you might stand a good chance in challenging that company in court. Of course, the legal fees might just make it so that didn’t pay off. Perhaps that’s why they limit the loan amount to $500?

By: Carter

Carter — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 23:24:48 +0000

Look on the bright side: at least they are disclosing an APR. Many companies try to get around such disclosure by charging fees. Many banks will be happy to pay an overdrawn check for you, charging you $35 or more regardless of the check amount. If the overdraft amount is small and/or is repaid quickly, this can easily equate to an APR greater than 1,000,000%!

By: nordsieck

nordsieck — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 21:29:11 +0000

Given that poor people have few assets, I doubt that a significantly lower APR is feasible.

Even Grameen charges 50-100%, and they have all sorts of social advantages that payday loan shops are unable to bring to the table (most responsible married women are unlikely to used payday loan places in the first place).

I’m not saying that it’s true, but if people are poor because they value wealth (things) more than money moreso than their richer neighbors, than this seems identical to pet stores marketing to pet owners.

By: A

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 23:01:55 +0000

This reminds me of a book called Merchants of Misery: How Corporate America Profits From Poverty.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 20:03:46 +0000

177 percent?! Wow — let me hop on that great deal!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 17:38:58 +0000

I agree that this looks ridiculous.

However, it would seem to me that the lender may have an increased risk by lending to the type of people that would take this offer.

If somebody is going to take out a loan for 50 or even 500 L it would appear to me that they may not be able to pay back the loan. The high interest rate would be required to cover the borrowers that don’t pay off the loan.

By: Enrique

Enrique — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 16:50:47 +0000

This lawful loans reminds of the poor in Bangladesh before there was micro-lending.

The one lending the money would dictated how much money he was willing to pay for their products.

For the people who preach personal responsability, at least you need to have been taught about money and lending practices.